Chen Kaige (b. 1952) is a Chinese film director and a leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema. His films are known for their visual flair and epic storytelling.
His most famous film in the West, Farewell My Concubine (1993), nominated for two Academy Awards and winner of the Palme d'Or and the FIPRESCI Award at 1993 Cannes Film Festival, follows two Beijing opera stars through decades of change in China during the twentieth century. Almost as famous is his The Emperor and the Assassin (1999), an epic involving the legendary King of Qin and the reluctant assassin who aims to kill him.
In 2005, he directed The Promise, a fantasy wuxia picture, shifting to a more commercial mindset. He later went on to direct Sacrifice (2010), which is a re-imagining of the famous play The Orphan of Zhao.
Chen has also acted in several films, including Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (1987) and his own The Emperor and the Assassin and Together. (Wikipedia)
